how is payment handled on shipped out of state sale/purchase

[buffalow]

On a private to private sale such as thru the classifieds, shipping to a FFL in another state to make the transfer , what is the best way to handle payment, any thoughts on this? thanks

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[2DaMtns]

I just posted a similar thread the other day. I had the guy send a money order.

 

[Knopfplayer]

I'm looking for a good answer, too. I've been burned twice sending money orders. The second time I asked for a scan of his DL before I'd send it to that address. That scan, and scans of the money order and our messages, were good documentation for the St Louis PD when I phoned them up. At least the second time I was surprised by victim compensation checks.

 

[Argonaut]

Postal Money order. They are impossible to conterfit if you show it to or cash it at the post office.

 

[buffalow]

So the buyer has to send payment then you send the weapon? Doesn't sound too secure for the buyer .

 

[Medic!]

I would rather be the potential bad guy. And come through.

That get screwed!

 

[Argonaut]

So the buyer has to send payment then you send the weapon? Doesn't sound too secure for the buyer .

Yes..........too secure for who? The seller has all the cards, he has something the buyer wants. The seller cashes the money order before sending the asset, whether it is a gun or anything else. EBAY has made billions of dollars managing a system that works just like that....... Postal money orders are the ones you buy at the US Post Office.

 

[Camelfilter]

So the buyer has to send payment then you send the weapon? Doesn't sound too secure for the buyer .

Yup.

Never bought over interwebs, just face to face, or had local dealers order something in.

Interwebs?

I would imagine safest for a buyer would be thru a dealer whom does consignement, and then buyer could use credit card. 2 layers of "protection" there. Dealers reputation, and credit card.

Costs more, so if there was something we "had to have" I'd ask a seller to do just that, and expect to pay the premium for doing so (no idea really, but imagine probably 10%+ higher price would seem reasonable to me for that type of a transaction.)

Safest for the regular joe seller seems to be postal money order only.

 

[WAYNO]

Folks always worry about protection for the seller. It's a two way street. The seller has some protections that he'll get paid before he ships the product...Money orders, cashiers checks etc., but the buyer has no protection. I'm often the buyer, and if necessary, I use money orders or cashiers checks, but then once the payment is cashed, and I was to receive no product, I'm just plain out the money. Since there's no way to place guns in escrow, both the buyer and seller need to know ahead of time if the other party is on the up and up. If you can't research and find they're on a known-seller list, somewhere, and you can't afford a loss, re-think the deal.

 

[Argonaut]

Folks always worry about protection for the seller. It's a two way street. The seller has some protections that he'll get paid before he ships the product...Money orders, cashiers checks etc., but the buyer has no protection. I'm often the buyer, and if necessary, I use money orders or cashiers checks, but then once the payment is cashed, and I was to receive no product, I'm just plain out the money. Since there's no way to place guns in escrow, both the buyer and seller need to know ahead of time if the other party is on the up and up. If you can't research that they are on a known-seller list, don't do the deal.

I buy and sell with strangers all over the world almost on a daily basis, I love guys that are afraid....I make 10X the money and live a much more peaceful life.......if you loose a few bucks ( I can't remember the last time I did) it isn't the end of the world and isn't going to change my lifestyle. Most humans are up front and honest. The deals are wherever you find them, you have to have the courage to take advantage of them when they are found.

 

[mrblond]

well, if your buying off gunbroker or something you have feedback you can look at. if its some dude you met on some forums its all a matter of how much risk do you want to take

 

[Colts4me]

I bought a few guns out of state and sold a few too. When buying I use a postal money order and add the serial number of the gun so it's certian what the payment was for. Postal money orders have the government behind them so fraud is going to have gov after the cheat. I keep a close eye on the registered mail going to the seller and keep a record of all contact with the seller and expect tracking numbers.

If the gun didn't show up I would contact the post office with the money order receipt to prove mail fraud.

Penalties
Mail fraud penalties are potentially very significant. While the specific penalty a court imposes will differ significantly based on the circumstances of the case, any mail fraud conviction can result in high fines, long prison sentences, and other penalties.

• Incarceration. The potential prison penalty for a federal mail fraud crime is very stiff. Each offense can result in a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison. However, the penalty can be harsher if the crime involves specific victims or elements. When, for example, a fraud scheme involves federal disaster relief or where the victim is a financial institution, sentences of 30 years per offense are possible.
• Fines. Mail fraud fines are also very high. A conviction for a single count of mail fraud can result in a fine of up to $250,000. For fraud involving financial institutions or federal disaster relief, fines of up to $1 million per offense are possible.
• Probation. Mail fraud convictions can also result in a probation term. Anyone sentenced to probation has to spend a specific amount of time, typically one to three years or more, abiding by specific court conditions in lieu of serving prison time. These conditions limit the person's liberties, such as by requiring the probationer to regularly report to a probation monitor, submitting to random home searches or random drug tests, not associating with known criminals, and not committing other crimes.
• Restitution. When a mail fraud scheme succeeds in defrauding someone of property or causes harm to a victim, courts make restitution a part of the sentence. Restitution payments are made to the victims so they can recover what they lost as a result of the fraud. Restitution payments must be made in addition to fines, and when probation is given, are made a condition of the sentence.

 

[Colts4me]

Plus it would pay for the seller to fax a copy of their drivers lic so the right info is entered on the money order and you have all you need to go after them if they cheat you.

 

[bbbass]

My daughter's FFL always wanted my DL copied before he would accept the firearm. I also requested he fax a copy of his FFL.

 

[Member 5605]

USPS money order.

 

[buffalow]

we used to be a free state.....wth happened

 

[IronMonster]

I have sent at least a dozen strangers checks, money orders or cashiers checks for firearms. They have always come. Now on the other hand I have paid legitimate retailers thousands of dollars for gun related items which I had to file charges on initiate fraud proceedings.

 

[PDXSparky]

The last gun I bought was from a guy I've never met who lives in Georgia. I sent him a personal check for $7k last December. He sent me all the non-gun parts right away. I got the part with the serial number from my class 3 dealer last week. I've paid for all my class 3 toys with personal checks.